Judge Tosses Out Lawsuit Halting Obama Presidential Center Construction

On Wednesday, a federal judge threw out a lawsuit blocking construction of the Obama Presidential Center. However, there are several hurdles to overcome before construction can begin.  

The group who originally filed the lawsuit in May of 2018 says they plan to appeal the judge's decision.

U.S District Judge John Blakey said, in a 52-page written opinion, that the lawsuit didn't warrant a trial and that construction should start without delay.

Since Jackson Park is on the national registry of historic places. Construction can't start until a federal review is made.

After that, there has to be a public comment period to talk about the impacts of the development and Mayor Lori Lightfoot has to give her opinion on the hundreds of millions of dollars going into construction and the traffic redo plan.

Lightfoot has said in the past that her focus is to make sure residents near the area are not displaced by the project, but she has yet to receive a briefing on the project from foundation officials.

06/12/19 7:32AM